“Gamba is going to kill someone. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
Captain David McLachlan, Lambell’s Lagoon Volunteer Fire Brigade
“A gamba grass fire, really is the stuff of nightmares. It’s hot, it’s fast, it’s way over your head and the potential for it is absolutely everywhere in the Top End.
Some people say that the township of Batchelor is a tinderbox of gamba grass and any fire will result in the loss of property, wildlife and possibly even worse.”
Jo Laverty, ABC Darwin Breakfast. August 2019
“If you’ve seen a gamba grass fire coming at you, you respect it with all that you can.”
Captain Roy Hicks, Marrakai Volunteer Fire Brigade
“Gamba grass fires are faster moving, they’re higher intensity, and the flame heights are much greater than what we see in native ecosystems — and it is a real potential threat to human life.”
Natalie Rossiter Rachor, Charles Darwin University ecologist
“My heart goes out to the Northern Territory, which has a vast and dangerous infestation of African gamba grass, the subject of a recent horror story on ABC Radio’s Late Night Live. It kills everything in its path.”
Phillip Adams, ABC Radio host
“Gamba grass is a big, big problem, and has been for many many years. Its seeds can fly for a long distance, and it burns much later than other grasses and with a really high intensity.”
City of Darwin Mayor Kon Vatskalis